


Out of Sight, Out of Mind

by Linguini



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Rescue, post Lin losing her bending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-29
Updated: 2019-03-29
Packaged: 2019-12-26 09:59:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18280823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linguini/pseuds/Linguini
Summary: As Lin Beifong is dropped unceremoniously to her knees in front of Amon, she knows with absolute certainty what is about to happen. He will demand information, she will refuse to give it, and there will be Consequences.





	Out of Sight, Out of Mind

It doesn’t happen like this:

 **** Chief Beifong takes one look at the Equalist ships and knows with utter certainty what she must do.  Her cable wraps around the rope that had minutes ago held the net she destroyed, and her shoulders burn already just keeping her on the bison.

 **** “Whatever happens,” she reminds them, wind whipping at her cheeks.  “Don’t turn back.” She can see Tenzin turn around, but before he can say anything she’s flying through the air.

 **** Lin tucks her head, landing with grace, then stands, summoning every ounce of her strength.  Taking a breath, she steadies herself, visualizes what _will_ happen.  Beneath her, the metal creaks in obedience, tearing itself apart as she pushes the earth inside.  It’s a matter of a heartbeats before the ship is sinking through the air, and a handful more before she’s airborne again, landing on the other airship with less grace, but equal force.

 **** The second ship is pushed as easily as the first, but the crew more alert.  One of them finds her on the hull, wraps her in one of the electrified bolas and for a moment, Lin can’t see, can’t breathe, can’t _feel._  There’s the sound of explosions around her, and the ship rattles.  Lin feels herself slipping, and can’t seem to focus enough to stop her fall as the ship lurches in the air.  The wind whips past her, face scraping along the rivets and joints of the ship, and then the heart-dropping feeling of falling.

 **** Lin closes her eyes, finds herself thinking of her mother, her sister, Kya and the city as the water of Yue Bay rises to meet her.

 **** And then she lands on something solid, something padded that smells of leather and hay.  There are hands on her arms, pulling the ropes away, and then a hand on her shoulder, pulling her to lay flat.  

 **** It’s Jinora whose soft fingers settle under Lin’s chin at pulse, and Meelo and Ikki who drag her up closer to the shelter of Oogi’s head.  Every inch of Lin aches, though the arc of fire along her ribs and the sudden inability to draw a complete breath are the loudest complaints.

 **** A hand comes to rest on her shoulder, and Lin blinks open eyes she hadn’t realized had slipped shut to see Pema looking down at her.  She doesn’t ask if Lin is alright--they both know that she would only lie, for the sake of the children. Instead she says “Not long to go now.  Just rest.”

 **** And Lin, who has never given up a day in her life, closes her eyes and tries to remember how to breathe and thanks the Spirits for the stubborn airhead she once loved.

\-------------------

None of that happens.  Lin is captured, the second ship survives relatively unscathed, and Lin is dragged to face Amon with what she is fairly certain are broken ribs and a nasty concussion.  The guards aren’t gentle with her, not that she expects them to be. After all, she knows with absolute certainty what is about to happen. He will demand information, she will refuse to give it, and there will be Consequences.

 **** The rain lands heavy on her brow, sliding into her eyes and obscuring her vision for a moment, but it’s been generations since a Beifong needed eyes to see.  The earth whispers truths to her as Amon crosses the space between them. What happens next matters not at all; Lin’s mind is already racing forward, past the here and now.

 **** Too-warm fingers come to rest on the back of her neck.  The rain falls harder, the ground smells of life.

 **** For one last time, Lin Beifong closes her eyes and _shoves_.

****

\---------------------

 _Drip, drip, drip_.

Waking up comes slowly, like frost clearing from the ground.  Lin opens her eyes, frowns when her left eye refuses to cooperate, feeling swollen shut.   The ground is cold and silent beneath her cheek. Her head spins. Every inch of her is frozen and numb.  There is only darkness.

_Drip, drip, drip._

Lin closes her eyes again, breathes in dirt and iron and brackish water, listens to her mother’s voice in her head, the voice she has carried with her all her life.

 **_Up_ **.

She obeys, allows herself five heartbeats to lean back against the wall when her ears ring and the earth tilts under her before pushing herself unsteadily to her feet.  The ceiling is low, and she has to stoop over, but with the platinum bindings gone from her wrists, her hands roam freely over the rough-hewn rock surrounding her. Not that she actually gleans any information.  For a moment, hard-won instinct takes over, and she finds herself slamming her foot to the floor uselessly.

**_You idiot._ **

Her mother’s voice is as merciless here as it has ever been.  Lin grits her teeth and regrets it instantly when a spike of pain flashes through her temples.  The ringing in her ears resumes, overwhelming her, and she allows herself a moment to press her forehead against the cool rock to steady herself.

Eventually, the ringing turns to a low buzzing, and no matter how much she presses at her ears, it doesn’t go away.  Willing herself to ignore it, Lin stands as straight as she can, measures the distance from one side to the other.

One, two three, four, five steps one way.

One, two, thr--

She runs into something about waist height that sparks at her uniform, sends her flying back against the unyielding rock behind her.

**_Should have seen that coming._ **

Silence falls as her legs give out beneath her, toppling her to the ground unceremoniously, except for the buzzing of the shocksticks barricading the opening of her prison and the _infernal_ dripping.

_Drip, drip, drip._

 

\------------------------

It takes an embarrassingly long time for anyone to realize Chief Beifong is truly, properly _missing_ , The prisons have been cleared out, as have the temporary cells Amon installed under the arena, and there hasn’t been a single sign of her.  Their only clue is that Amon had captured her, and his soldiers report (under threat of fire from Mako) that he had taken her bending on Air Temple Island.

“How can she be here on the island?” Korra asks, scowling in frustration.  “We’ve checked all the buildings, and Tarrlok said there weren’t any other prisoners here.”

No one answers her.  They’ve all thought the same thing, but no one has any answers, except for one horrifying conclusion:  Wherever Lin is, she’s been there for more than a week on her own, most likely trapped, since no one’s seen her in the city.

Oogi lands in the courtyard of the temple, and Korra’s on the ground instantly, whistling for Naga.  The polarbeardog snuffles at Korra’s chest, tilts her head for Korra to scratch under her ear.

“I’ve got a job for you,” Korra says as she climbs into the saddle.  “Lin’s missing and we need to find her.” She leans down and pats at Naga’s ruff.  “I know you can do it, girl.”

With a huff, Naga pauses, sniffing the ground, then the air before taking off into the woods.  Korra doesn’t bother saying anything to any of the others; she can see them fanning out in the other directions as they leave.

They search the island for hours, until Naga begins to circle the same clearing over and over, drooping with frustration.  “Alright, girl,” Korra soothes, jumping off when they reach a clear lake. “Take a break. I’m going up there, see if I can find anything useful.”  She scratches behind Naga’s ears again and point up the slope of a craggy, muddy hill. “Don’t go anywhere.”

The “hill” turns out to be more of a mountain, with strange cracks and crevices everywhere and a rapidly shifting ground that requires all of Korra’s concentration to navigate.  When she reaches the top,, rocks tumble down behind her with a clatter that obscures any other sound. In the distance, she can see the top of the Air Temple complex, with Oogi circling overhead.  Nothing to point to any sign of Lin.

She sighs, scowling at the sky as if it personally has offended her.   _Where could she be?_

Then, suddenly, a ping of metal.  It’s small enough that Korra can’t quite pinpoint its location.  Standing carefully still, she closes her eyes and concentrates, trying to shut out the sound of the wind rushing, the river tumbling over rocks…

_ping_

There!  Heedlessly, she scrambles down the hillside, scattering dirt as she goes.  Another _ping,_ louder this time, and Korra puts on a burst of speed.  She slides down the last little bit of a small divot in the hill, and ends up next to a cave--though in reality, it’s not even really deep or tall enough to be called that.  The craggy opening is barely as high as her shoulders, and the entrance is covered with thick electrical poles.

Korra can feel the energy from the poles planted in the ground even from where she’s standing.  The gap between them and the lip of the cave is small, making it difficult to see inside so carefully, Korra edges as close as she dares.

“Hello?” she calls into the cavern.

 _Ping_.

A rock hits one of the poles, which vibrates in protest but doesn’t budge.

From inside the cave comes a growl, hoarse and weaker than usual, but clearly identifiable.

“Lin!  It’s me,” she calls, stepping forward thoughtlessly.  She only remembers the danger when her skin begins to prickle with unreleased electricity.  Frustration and fear and not a little bit of guilt rise up within her, and she wastes no time in yanking out the earth under the poles with one fierce motion.  They fall surprisingly easily, and the way into the cavern is suddenly clear.

_If the sticks were so easily removed, why didn’t Lin…?_

The obvious answer to that stops her in her tracks, which turns out to be a blessing as a flurry of stones and clods of dirt come flying from the crevice, Lin’s ragged voice following them out.  “Try it again, I dare you.”

Korra shifts so light spills into the small space where Lin is curled, drops to one knee to assess her.  Lin is sitting in the far corner, one arm wrapped around her middle, the other resting on a small pile of earthen projectiles, each roughly spherical.  Her breathing is painfully ragged, and her face bruised, but she’s alive, and Korra feels a surge of relief.

“Lin,” she tries again.  “Everything’s fine. It’s me.”

There’s a long moment where she’s certain she’s going to get another rock aimed at her head before Lin blinks and seems to come back to herself.  “Avatar,” she says, and her voice cracks roughly.

Korra scoots back.  “Yes. We’ve been looking all over for you.”  She reaches out to Lin, hesitates, rests her hand on the rock face.  “Are you hurt?”

There’s a long pause.  “Nothing too dire.” Carefully, she pushes herself up against the rock, hunched over, her arm still tightly around her stomach.  Korra reaches out instinctively to keep Lin’s head from hitting the top of the cave until she’s standing in the open air.

Lin sways slightly, starting to uncurl.  Before she gets very far, she stops with a hiss and a wince and doubles over again, eyes closed shut.  Her face is pale where it’s not marred with scrapes and scratches, and for a moment, Korra is sure she’s going to pass out.  But Lin sets her feet, and though she doesn’t move, she somehow seems more solid.

“Nothing dire, hmm?” Korra says, in some attempt at levity.  “I’d hate to see what you call an emergency.” She settles a careful hand at Lin’s elbow, guiding her down the least unstable parts of the hill.

Lin doesn’t answer, just pants and leans against Korra far more than would be expected.  Spirits bless Naga, who is waiting at the base of the hill for them. “Careful,” Korra says, then helps Lin climb into the saddle and lay down.

“Gentle girl,” she says, patting Naga’s side. “Take your time.”

They set off, Korra guiding Naga down the smoothest paths.  “What happened to you?” she calls up to Lin, once they’ve settled into a steady pace.  

 **** “Cracked ribs.”  Lin’s answer drifts down thickly from Naga’s back, less clearly than her usual precise tones.

 **** “No, I mean with Amon.”

 **** Silence is her only response.

 **** “Come on, Lin.  I need to know you’re still awake.”  Korra scowls lightly up at the dark metal of Lin’s arm, dangling from the side of the saddle.  When there’s no response, she reaches up and pokes her palm. “Talk. Talk. Talk.”

 **** The fingers of that hand form a rude gesture, and Korra huffs a laugh.  “Fine, then. Talk about whatever you want. Just let me know you’re awake.”

 **** Another moment of silence, then Lin’s rough voice, interspersed with rattling breaths.  “The glow...on the western mountains...quickly...sets.  The moon...climbs...over the eastern lake…My hair loose...”

 **** It’s not a poem Korra recognizes.  The language is old, she cannot help but feel she is hearing a little bit of something private, some place Lin’s mind has retreated to now that the worst of the danger is past.  Her face flushes, and she ducks her head, forcing herself to ignore the words that wind through the air above her. Unconsciously, her fingers thread through Lin’s, without protest from above, and she squeezes gently in a weak attempt of reassurance.

 **** She knows when they get back to the temple, there will be cries of concern, calls for a healer.  Lin will bristle and argue, Tenzin will fuss, and things will be back to their normal, chaotic selves.  But for now, there’s her and Lin and Naga, and the ancient love poems of the Earth Nation drifting down hoarsely from above.

 


End file.
